What to Expect from a Drug Treatment Program?

A drug treatment program is a place that addicts and alcoholics can do to get help for their addiction. There are often a few aspects of a drug treatment program, possibly including detox, residential rehab, outpatient rehab, and/or sober living facilities.

Detox would be the first step. The detox process can take anywhere from 3 days to over a week. During this time, as the drugs leave the patients’ bodies, patients will experience physical withdrawal symptoms. The symptoms will differ depending on what drug or drugs the clients are coming off of.

After detox, most patients are encouraged to go into a residential program or an outpatient program. At a residential drug treatment center, patients spend 24 hours a day in a recovery setting. They live and attend groups at the center. Most residential centers ask patients to stay 30, 60, or 90 days. While there, the patients will start to build the foundation of their recovery, learning about triggers for their use and coping skills for dealing with them.

Once a patient finishes residential rehab, his counselor will encourage him to continue on the road to recovery. Many counselors will suggest that patients continue on to a sober living house. These are houses where recovering addicts and alcoholics live together so they can support each other in their recovery. Sober living facilities help addicts learn how to live a sober life, something they are definitely not used to. They learn how to be accountable for the daily responsibilities they ignored in their addiction.

When patients are ready for a lower level of care, they will often enroll in an outpatient drug treatment program. These programs meet a few times a week for a few hours. They allow people to continue their treatment while also being able to keep their work or family obligations. Many outpatient drug treatment programs will also encourage their clients to attend outside 12 step meetings and to get a sponsor.